Sheet-feeding machine.



E.. A. FREEMAN.

SHEET PEEDING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. zo, 1908.

1,072,937- A Patented sept.9,1913.

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Burns a. FREEMAN, or RUSHING, NEW reen, assrcfivon eo THE nufrornnss coMrANr, a coni-casaron er New wenn S-FEEBING MAGMINE.

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`Specification of Letters Batent.

e Application led, April 20, 13Go. Serial No. 428.259.

Patented dept.. 9.. turd..

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Burns A. FREEMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resi-y dent 'of Flushing, Queens county, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Feeding Machines, of which the following is a specification.

rlhe invention relates to sheet-feeding m3- chines and-more especially to sheet-feeding machines. which feed ed sheets from the face of astack, the stack-.supportin' table being raised as the sheets are fed o to keep the face of the stack in operative relation with the feeding-oft devices,

Ubjects of the invention are to provide a mechanism` which is very sensitive to variations in the relation of the stack to the feeding-off devices, and which will reduce such variations to a minimum; which is capa'ble of raising the table by very small increments; which is direct and reliable in action; which is simple and strong in con-l struction, and which is well adapted for high-speed feeding. These and other objects of invention will in part be obvious and will in part be more fullv set forth herein.

The invention consists in the novel parts, combinations, arrangements and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawing, representing a side elevation of a machine constructed in part in accordance with the principles of the invention, constitutes aI part hereof and serves herewith to illustrate the `principles of the invention.

The success and eciency of a 'sheet-feeding machine depend largely upon maintaining a constant relation between the face of the sheet stack and the feedingfody devices and the maintenance of such aielation de-v` -pends to a great extent upon eficient tableraising mechanism. By maintaining such, a constant relation, the feeding of a plurality of sheets, failure to feed a sheet,. irregularity in feeding off the sheets, and other objections are avoided, even when sheets are fed olf at high speeds.

In the accompanying drawing there is shown stack l of'sheets 'Carried by a suitable table Suitable .devices for feeding off sheets from the face ofsaid Stack will be used but not illustrated heroin, Such' devices may be'employed similar to .those disstantia closed in my co-pending application for patent Serial Number 395,388 tiled October 1 1907. Suitable supporting devices for said table are provided and also devices ccacting therewith to feed the table upwardly 1n such manner a's to maintain as nearly as poslble a uniform relation between the face of the stack and the feeding-o devices. ln the present embodiment the supporting and feedmg-up'devices for the table are shown as comrismg sprocket chains 3 located suby centrally of the table upon either side thereof. Said chains are shown passmg over suitable sprocket wheels 4, mounted on the frame 5, and also over suitable sprocket wheels 6 carried upon a shaft 7 mounted 1n the lower part of 'the frame. Said chains areattached to the table 2 in a suitable manner, as at 8. Fixed also upon the shaft 7 are shown sprocket wheels 9 carrying sprocket chains l0 which likewise pass over sprocket wheels ll. Suitable devices for moving the hereinbefore. described mechanism are provided including Aa ratchet wheel l2 shown connected by suitableigears 1,8 and 14 to the sprockets et and l1. F or the purpose of rotatingthe ratchet Wheel 1,2 there 1s shown a pawl 1,5 pivoted on a reciprocable rod i6. Said rod 1s shown mounted to reciprocate longitudinally and suitable means for so reciprocating it are provided. ln this embodiment a suitable cam 1 7 is shown arranged to positively advance said rod to feed up the table. ltn'the drawings the rod 16 is shown mount- 'ed to slide in a lug` 18 upon the frame ofthe machine and having a slotted connection with the' shaft 19 of the cam 17 A suitable anti-friction roll 20 is shown 'mountedupon the rod for the purpose of hearing upon the cam 17. Means are provided which act to retract said rod after it- -has been advanced to feed u .the table. is shown in the resent om odiment, a spring 21 tends to Iiold the rod 16. to its cam and thus acts to retract the rod with the movement Aof the cam. Said spring is conveniently shown herein under compression between the lug 18 and an adjustable collar 22 carried upon the rod 16. ,For the purpose of allowing or preventing the reciprocation of said rod, suitable means are provided. .lis shown herein, such means act to control the action of .the spring ill upon the md 16. A mov able doe 23 iS shown of angular form and suitably pivoted upon the frame of the lnachine at 24. Said dog is constructed and arranged to move into and out of engaging position with respect to a lug 25 upon the rod 16, thus either preventing or 'allowing the rod, acting under impulsion of the spring, to follow its cam. It will be seen also that but a very slight variation in the movement of the dog is necessary to either allow or prevent the reciprocation of the rod as the case may be.

Acting upon the face of t-he Sheet stack is shown a suit-able feeler 26 which is further shown as being vertically slidable in a suitable support 27. There are also provided motion multiplying connections between the feeler and dog for moving the dog. In this embodiment said connections comprise a member connected directly tosaid feeler 26 and dog 23 to cause the feeler to movethe dog and thus control the action of the pawl 15 upon the ratchet wheel 12. Said member is shown as comprising an arm 2S engaging the feeler 26 and fixed upon a shaft 29, and having an arm 30 likewise fixed to said shaft and connected to the dog 23 at a distance from the pivot of the latter which is short as. compared with the length of the arm 30, whereby the motion of the dog is multiplied with relation to that of the feeler. Accordingto one feature of the invention means are provided for readily varying the relation between the feeler and the dog to enable the height of the sheet stack to be nicely regulated with relation to the feeding-off devices. Preferably this is accomplished by threading the grooved collar 28a'which is engaged by the arm 28, and screwing it on a correspondingly threaded stem 26a of the feeler, the collar being held in its adjusted position by a suitable jam-nut. By means of this construction the relation between the stack and the feeding mechanism may be variedv without stopping the machine.

It will be understood that as the sheets are fed oft7 from the top of the stack the feeler 26 descends until the engaging end of the dog 23 is moved out of the path of the lug 25 and then ythe spring 21 will act to cause the rod 16 to reciprocate with the rotation of its cam 17, carrying the pawl 15 backward over the toothed ratchet wheel 12 and as the cam moves the rod in the opposite direction, the ratchet wheel 12 will be rotated to give a feeding-up movement to the table and sheet stack. On the other hand, when the table has been fed up a very little, the fcelcr 26 will descend a less distance and the lever arms 28 and 30 will not be rocked sufficiently to lift the engaging end of the dog 23 out of the path of the lug 25. As but a very slightl motion of the dog 23 in one direction or the other will either arrest the rod or permit it to pass, as has been noted above, it will be seen that the mechanism is one of great sensitiveness and may be ai* ranged to cause a feed of a sin letooth of the ratchet wheel 12. AsA this w eel may be of considerable size, it will be seen that the mechanism7 as stated, isnot only sensitive in detecting small variations in the height of the stack, but it will give a frequent 'and small feed thus maintaining very nearly absolute predetermined conditions between the feeding-0E devices and the face of the stack. 1t will further be, seen that said devices are characterized by great strength and simplicityw Suitable devices are provided for lifting the feeler out of pressure contact with the face of the stack during the feeding-off of successive sheets, and in the present embodiment said means are shown acting directly upon the lever 28f30. 'lhe illustrated form thereof comprises a link 31 connected to the arm 30 and, by a pin-and-slot connection to an arm 32 which is actuated by a suitable cam 33. Said arm serves also to actuate-the drop rollers 34 carried upon arms 35. It will thus be seen that said devices serve to relieve the pressure contact of the feeler upon the face of the stack as the sheets are being fed off.

A suitable check pawl 36 is shown for preventing backward movementJ of the ratchet wheel l2. A handle 37 is also shown upon said ratchet wheel, so that same can be rotated by hand. This permits rapid movement of the table in either direction as by throwing out'the pawl 36 the table may be moved in either direction.

The opening of the mechanism will be clearly understood from the foregoing description. It will be also understood that a machine has been provided which realizes the objects of invention and the advantages herein set forth together with other obiects and advantages. i

lt will be understood that changes may be made in the mechanism shown and described without departing from the principles ofthe invention and without sacrificing its advantages.

I claim 1. A sheet-feeding machine including in combination, a table for supporting a sheet stack, a pawl and ratchet mechanism for raising the table, said pawl and ratchet being located near the top of the sheet stack, a reciprocating member for actuating the pawl, means for positively advancing said' reciprocating member to feed up the table, means actingr to retract said reciprocating member` a dog qfor preventing said retracting means from acting,` a feeler acting on the face of said sheet stack, a rock shaft connected to said feeler, and a relatively long arm on'said rock shaft directly engaging a relatively short arm on said dog.

2. A sheet-feeding machine including in combination, a table for supporting a sheet stack, a pawl and ratchet mechanism for raising the table, said pawl and ratchet being located near the top of the sheet stack, a reciprocating member for actuating the pawl, means for positively advancing said reciprocating `member to feed up the table, means acting to retract said Yreciprocating member, a dog for prevent-ing said retractmoving the stack, a reCDl'Ocable rod having a pawl pivoted directly thereon for engaging `said ratchet Wheel, means for reciprocating said rod, a movable dog for allowing or preventing the neciprocation of' said rod, a feeler acting on the tace ofthe sheet stack,

and connections between saideeler anddog" for moving the rod engaging portion of the dog wit-h a motion which is many times greater than that of the feeler.

,4. A sheet-feeding machine including in combination, a table for supporting a sheet stack, table raising means including a ratchet whl located near the top of the stack, a longitudinally reciprocable rod having a pawl pivoted directly thereon for engaging said ratchet wheel, means for positively advancing said reciprocating rod to feed up the table, a dog for preventing said reciprocating means from acting, a feeler acting on the face ofy the sheet stack, a rock shaft connected to said eeler, and a relatively long arm on said rdck shaft directly engaging a relatively short arm onlthe dog to cause the feeler to move Vthe dog positively with a greatly multiplied motion.

5. A sheet-feeding machine including in combination, a table foi-'supporting a sheet stack, table -raising means including a ratchet Wheel, a rod reciprocable longitudinally and having a'pawl pivoted directly thereon for engaging said ratchet wheel, a cam for reciproca-ting said rod, a spring for holding-said rod to its cam, a movable Vdog for controlling the action of said -spring on the rod, a feeler acting on the face of the sheet stack, and a rock shaft having an arm' connected to the feeler and a relatively long arm connected to a relatively short arm on `the dog.

6. A sheet-feeding machine including in combination, a table for supporting a sheet stack, a chain for supporting said table, a shaft at the bottom part of the machine con"- nected to said chain, mechanism including a ratchet wheel near the top of the machine also connected to said chain, a pawl for moving said ratchet wheel, a dog for controlling said pawl, a feeler acting on the face of the sheet stack, motion-multiplying connections between said feeler and said dog, and a handle on said ratchet wheel for actuating the table by hand.

7. A sheet-feeding machine-including in combination, a table for supporting a sheet stack, a shaft near the bottom of the machine, a ratchet wheel near the top of the machine, connections bet-Ween said ratchet wheel, shaft and table, a reciprocable rod having a pawl pivoted thereon for engaging said ratchet wheel, a cam for reciprocating said rod, a movable dog for allowing or preventing the reciprocation: of said lrod, a feeler acting on the face of the sheet stack, motion-multiplying connections between said feeler and' dog to cause the feeler to/ move the dog, a handle on said ratchet wheel, and a check pawl for saidy ratchet wheel.

`8. A sheet-feeding machine including in -combination, a table for ysupporting a sheet stack, table-raising means including a ratchet wheel', a reciprocating rod having a pawl pivoted directly thereon for engaging said ratchet Wheel, means for reciprocating said rod, a movable dog for allowing lor preventing the reciprocation of said rod, a feeler acting on the face of the sheet stack, motiontwo subscribing witnesses.

RUFUS A. FREEMAN. Witnesses:

WM. J.l DoLAN, JOHN CoNAHEY.

[t is hereby certified that in Letters Patent ,Na-1,072,937, granted September 9, 1913, upon the application of Rufus A; Freeman, of Flushing, New York, for an improvement in Sheet-Feeding Machines, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 103, for the word portion read position; and that the said. Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record ofthe case in the Patent Oce Signed and sealed this 18th day of November, A. D., 1.913.

R. T. FRAZIER,

Acting 00m/missione? of Patents [SEAL] 

